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With sultry summers and mild winters, life in Georgia is peachy, and teaching in Georgia is pretty sweet too! This large, diverse and fast-growing state offers the best of everything, from the quiet rural beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the excitement of bustling metropolitan areas like Savannah and Augusta. Atlanta teachers in particular enjoy a uniquely urban Georgia lifestyle with world-class cultural events and major league sports teams. All across the state, teaching shortages are creating unprecedented opportunities for you to become a teacher in Georgia.
Why Teach in Georgia? Education is serious business in Georgia. The state boasts almost 70 public colleges, universities, and technical colleges, plus over 45 private institutes of higher learning. Georgia also has a unique HOPE Scholarship, funded by the state lottery—that enables all qualified Georgia residents who graduate from high school with a 3.0 or higher grade point average to attend a public college or university in the state. With so much support and opportunity for higher education in Georgia, the state is working hard to optimize the quality of K – 12 education and improve student test scores. Enrollment in the state funded prekindergarten program is also increasing, so more children are prepared to succeed when they start school. Georgia teachers enjoy the benefits of a highly motivated administration, a reasonable student-teacher ratio of just over 14:1, and an extraordinarily diverse student body. Georgia Teacher Salaries Georgia teacher salaries are well above the average per capita income for Georgia and just slightly below national average for teachers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Georgia teachers earned an average annual salary of over $48,000 in 2007. The following breakdown illustrates the range of salaries you can earn if you become a teacher in Georgia: - Elementary teacher salary: $48,000
- Middle school teacher salary: $48,620
- Secondary teacher salary: $48,630
- Special education teacher salary: $50,390
According to an August 2008 report by the Fiscal Research Center of Georgia State's Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, the lowest average full-time teacher salary was $44,463 in Echols County, and the highest was $57,814 in Buford County. And, a full-time Atlanta teacher working in an elementary school can expect to earn about $50,000 per year, according to Salary.com. Remember, teaching salaries increase significantly with years of experience.
Demand for GA Teachers Georgia is currently struggling to hire enough qualified teachers to keep up with rapid population growth. Critical teaching shortages have been reported in a long list of specialty areas, including the following: - Chorus, dance, dramatic arts, music and visual arts
- Elementary instruction
- English/Language arts
- English to speakers of other languages (ESOL)
- Foreign languages including Asian languages, French, German, Latin & Spanish
- Mathematics
- Physical education
- Physical sciences, including chemistry, earth science & physics
- Social sciences, including economics, geography, government & history
- Special education
You may be eligible for the Georgia HOPE Teacher Scholarship Program, which encourages qualified individuals to seek advanced degrees in critical teaching fields and then serve as teachers in the state. You may also be able to cancel or defer your student loans if you teach in a low-income or subject matter shortage area.
Georgia Teacher Certification There are several ways to become a certified teacher in Georgia. The traditional route is to complete a state-approved educator preparation program, either a degree program or a post-baccalaureate certificate program. You can receive Georgia's Clear Renewable Certificate when you complete the program and pass a content assessment test. Alternative routes to Georgia teacher certification are available for individuals who already hold degrees and have relevant life experience. If you are found eligible for the Georgia Teacher Alternative Preparation Program (TAPP), you may be granted an intern certificate. You then have two years to complete an internship/induction program and earn the Clear Renewable Certificate. There are also several routes to earning a non-renewable certificate at the discretion of your employing school system. If you are a foreign national teacher, Georgia teacher certification is still an option for you. Their international exchange teacher certification program may qualify you to teach in the Georgia for up to 3 years. Georgia also offers restricted permits to allow performing artists, retired teachers and native foreign language speakers to teach in Georgia classrooms. Georgia (Teaching) on Your Mind? When you become a teacher in Georgia, you're choosing a secure and satisfying career. The state population continues to grow at record rates, and the demand for qualified educators is projected to increase dramatically through 2012 and beyond. Get started today by finding a GA teachers preparation program on our comprehensive list of accredited teacher education schools. |
 
Teaching Throughout the U.S. Rich Growth for GA Teachers As a Georgia teacher, you can be part of an exciting time of growth and change in the state. - Only 24th in size among the 50 United States, Georgia was the ninth most populous state as of 2006. And it remains one of the fastest growing states, with a population growth of 44.5 percent since 1990.
- Georgia gets more diverse with each passing year. More than 41 percent of the population is non-white, including large and vibrant black, Hispanic, and Asian communities.
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